As I settled into the routines of a new school year, the question resurfaced: How could I increase reading motivation among teenagers? My annual Independent Reading Project lessons were before me. I created dynamic slides highlighting high-interest books; I updated my Reading Style Evaluation survey; I brushed up on the Novelist Plus database. Still, I wasn’t convinced any of it would make a difference.
Then, I came across an educator’s post on Instagram. I’m the first to blame social media and technology for the recreational reading decline among adolescents. As Jonathan Haidt points out, “as long as you have all these toys and games and interesting things happening on your phone, it’s going to call you away” (Resnick). If you look closely, however, the internet is a place where creativity thrives. When I saw Write on With Miss G promote her engaging book lists, I knew I found my hook.
Props that Wake Teens Up
With these well-crafted templates, I created my own book lists that reflected my collection. After printing color copies and laminating them, I displayed some in acrylic stands; others I fanned out across the circulation desk. When the students came into the library, they were drawn to these props.
Ninth graders are a shape-shifting bunch: they remain in the impulsive world of middle school while trying to be cool-as-ice high schoolers. Getting them excited about reading is complicated. To ease into the topic, I started with questions that focused on them. Using the reading evaluation sheets, I had them examine their literary preferences. Some students shared that they enjoyed being on a beach; others said they preferred dark, dystopian worlds. I connected my own reading choices to TV shows, explaining that the same colorful, charming atmosphere of Emily in Paris can be found in a fictional story like One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle.
Book Discussions that Encourage Critical Thinking
Once I’d given the students enough time to think about books as destinations, I showed them slides with featured books. As I introduced each book, I posed a question or presented a scenario. “Imagine you move tomorrow to Argentina and have to navigate your new high school while everyone around you is speaking Spanish” I said before introducing Love in English, a book about an Argentinian girl who settles in New Jersey. “Has anyone ever seen the show The Walking Dead?” I asked before sharing Bone Houses, a YA fantasy about creatures who haunt an old graveyard.
The well-known adage “Don’t judge a book by its cover” was another conversation starter that animated the students. It led to a discussion about cover design and the way modern books represent their content. We examined a few books through this lens and talked about the choice of titles and their significance. This introductory analysis facilitated critical thinking and helped bridge the gap between motivation and reading choice.
Browsing for Books
Now for the fun part: active book browsing. Almost all of the students first sifted through the curated book lists before moving on to the physical books. This seemed to give them more direction in their searches. They then roamed through the library freely, exploring a cart of YA titles and the shelves. It’s not easy to motivate freshmen. But I noticed that my enthusiasm was contagious. Even the students who said they don’t like reading appeared to have a newfound curiosity after my lesson.
Colorful props and dialogue that generates the exchange of thoughts go a long way with teens. By keeping my eyes open to other educators’ ideas and consistently communicating my infatuation with reading, I hope that I’ll be able to turn some high school students into active readers. If, at least, I teach them to view books from a positive angle, I’ll consider my work successful.
References
Remnick, David. 2024. “Jonathan Haidt Wants You to Take Away Your Kid’s Phone.” The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-new-yorker-interview/jonathan-haidt-wants-you-to-take-away-your-kids-phone.
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